Lily of the Valley
by Fanatick
Summary: A series of KanTana/TanKana short stories. Story 1: An old memory resurfaces, leading Tanjirou to a sudden realisation while he's at the Butterfly Estate. Story 2: Tanjirou takes time to bond with the triplets.
1. Chapter 1: Lily of the Valley

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KIMETSU NO YAIBA OR ANY ASSOCIATED OBJECTS, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, ETC. THE STORYLINE, CHARACTERS, AND OTHER WORLD ELEMENTS , AS WELL AS OFFICIAL ADAPTATIONS, BELONG TO KOYOHARU GOTOGE, SHONEN JUMP, AND UFOTABLE.**

* * *

Tonight had been a long night for Tanjirou. First, there was the meditation and the rest of his wind-down routine; then, Shinobu had stopped by to talk to him. He still sported a blush, as he remembered the tail end of their conversation.

* * *

_Shinobu stood up, preparing to leave. But as she moved to leap off the roof, curiosity lead Tanjirou to speak. "By the way, Shinobu-san", said Tanjirou. "You said that you use Insect Breathing, correct?"_

_"Yes, that's right," replied Shinobu. Head tilted, she stared at Tanjirou with crossed eyes._

_"Then, does Tsuyuri-san also use Insect Breathing?" asked Tanjirou._

_"No. Kanao was my older sister's student, so she uses Flower Breathing, like her." Shinobu smirked. "Why?"_

_"No, it's nothing!" Tanjirou frantically waved his hands. "I was just curious, since she's your Tsuguko."_

_A gentle laugh escaped Shinobu. "She is my Tsuguko now, but she trained under my sister." She leaned in close again. "But I am curious… why did you ask about her?"_

_"N-no reason! Can't I just be curious?" Tanjirou's protestations only lead Shinobu to chuckle more. "Alright, if you say so."_

_She poised with one leg bent. "I'd best be off, so I'll see you tomorrow." She leapt off the roof, leaving a flushed Tanjirou._

* * *

Tanjirou muttered as he walked. "What did Shinobu-san say her older sister's style was? Right, Flower Breathing. Why does that remind me of something….."

And suddenly, he remembered.

* * *

'_Big Brother, Big Brother!' Hanako and Shigeru gazed at him with mischievous eyes. 'What is it?'_

_Giggling, they covered their mouths with their hands. Shigeru smirked as he asked 'What sort of girl does Big Brother want to marry?'_

'_How am I supposed to answer this?!' he thought. "I've never thought about marriage before!" But his siblings' expectant eyes demanded an answer. After some thought, he decided on a metaphor which they would be able to understand. "A Shiba inu that's like a lily of the valley!"'_

"_Big Brother wants to marry a dog!" they cried. It took some time before Tanjirou's protestations managed to convince them otherwise._

* * *

"Ah, so that's what it was", he thought. "Kanao uses Flower Breathing… lily of the valley…." A blush appeared on his face, before fading as he shook his head. "What am I thinking?! That's just a coincidence. And that was a metaphor!" Interlacing his hands behind his head, he walked back to his room. "That's just a coincidence."

But even though he tried to forget, the lily of the valley still bloomed in his heart. And so, the next day…

"Kanao! Kanao!"


	2. Chapter 2: Flying Lessons

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KIMETSU NO YAIBA OR ANY ASSOCIATED OBJECTS, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, ETC. THE STORYLINE, CHARACTERS, AND OTHER WORLD ELEMENTS , AS WELL AS OFFICIAL ADAPTATIONS, BELONG TO KOYOHARU GOTOGE, SHONEN JUMP, AND UFOTABLE.**

"Nii-chan, are you sure that it's OK for you to be up & about? You were bedridden just a week ago!"

Worry creased Sumi's face as she examined Tanjirou. "I know that you said that you feel fine, but I'm really worried about letting you start rehabilitation training now…"

"It's fine, it's fine!" Tanjirou smiled reassuringly. "I'm completely fine, see?" He flexed and grinned at them.

"I'm still not convinced", said Naho. "You know, you don't have to force yourself. If you need a few more days…"

"Geez… what can I do to convince you that I'm perfectly well?" Tanjiro wondered out loud. Suddenly, he grinned and snapped his fingers. "I know! Have any of you flown before?"

"Flown? I don't understand." said Kiyo.

"Allow me to demonstrate. Don't worry – I've done this many, many times before." Tanjirou smiled wistfully, but quickly snapped back to his usual self. He crouched down, and held his arms at Kiyo's sides. "Ready?"

"Yes, but – ooh, I'm flying!" Laughter bubbled out as Tanjirou picked her up and gently swung her to and fro in the air. "I am the wind!"

Naho and Sumi's expressions soon changed from surprise to delight. "Me next! Me next, nii-chan!"

* * *

_Meanwhile, in the training room:_

Aoi'e eye twitched. "Where are Kiyo, Naho, and Sumi? They should have returned by now with their assessment of Tanjirou-san's condition."

Kanao stood up. "I'll go check."

As she approached Tanjirou's room, Kanao was surprised by the sound of laughter. "Again, again, nii-chan!" Rounding the doorway, Kanao spoke. "Girls, why haven't you reported back…" She cut herself off, as she looked on in wonder at the scene that was unfolding before her.

Sumi giggled as Tanjiro lifted her up and brought her back down. He repeated the motion, eliciting further laughter.

While looking on, Naho saw Kanao from the corner of her eye. "Oh, oh, it's Kanao-san! S-sorry… we completely forgot to return!" She and Kiyo trembled.

"Kanao, I'm sorry! I was playing with them and forgot to go to training!" Tanjirou put Sumi down and put his hands together. "I'm really sorry! I'll leave right now."

Kanao snapped back to reality. "Oh… right. Training." Nodding, she turned to leave. "I'll see you in the training room, then." She stepped outside the room, and her footsteps faded into the distance as she walked.

Kiyo, Naho, and Sumi looked at Tanjirou with sad expressions. "Sorry, we shouldn't have let ourselves get distracted", said Sumi.

Tanjirou beamed. "It's OK, it's OK! I had fun. And it seems that you did, too!" As he stood up, a sudden flash came to Tanjirou. _'Oh! The candy which Koinatsu-san gave me!"_ "Wait for a moment, you three!" He quickly rummaged through his cloak and belongings, searching for the hard candy. "_Found it! Hmm… Koinatsu-san only gave me one piece of candy… I'll need to break it in 3."_

He did so, and handed each of the triplets one of the 3 pieces. "Please enjoy this as thanks for taking care of me."

"Is this… candy?! Really, nii-chan?!" Sumi beamed brightly.

"Yes, it is." replied Tanjirou. "Ah… just be sure to clean your teeth properly afterwards, OK?"

"_Nii-chan!_" The 3 exclaimed in unison.

Tanjirou laughed and held up his hands. "Sorry, sorry. But nii-chan has to play his role, right?" He patted each of them on their heads, and turned to leave. "I'll play with you after training."

"Promise?" asked Naho.

Tanjirou extended his left pinky. "I promise." The three girls each locked pinkies with him.

"You'd better keep your promise!" Kiyo said.

"I will, I will. But for now, I have to go train. See you later!" Saying this, he left the room. He spotted Kanao leaning against the wall. "Oh, Kanao! I thought that you were heading to the training room?"

Kanao straightened up, and turned away from him. "I had some spare time, so I decided to wait."

"I'm ready to leave for my training, Kanao!" Tanjirou followed behind her.

"Good. I was wondering how much longer you'd take." They both started walking towards the training room.

As they were walking, Kanao told Tanjirou: "You… spoil them quite a bit, huh?"

"Spoil them?" repeated Tanjirou. "What do you m-AAAH!" Racing ahead of Kanao, Tanjirou turned around and bowed, his hands pressed together in apology. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have given them that candy!"

Kanao blinked. "No, that's not what I meant. I never said that it was a bad thing, did I?"

"You're… not angry because I gave them some candy?" asked Tanjirou. "Then… why did you bring it up?"

Kanao angled her head away from Tanjirou. Although he couldn't see her entire face, he could've sworn that the corners of her lips curled up in a faint smile. "Don't worry about it.", she said.

Tanjirou puzzled about this a bit, but couldn't find any meaning in her words before they reached the dojo.

* * *

Hi. Sorry, I know that this chapter ends rather ambiguously. It will be explained a bit more in future chapters. This is part of a sort-of series which I had in mind.

Edit 1: Sorry, I realise that I made various editing and timeline mistakes. I hope that I've fixed. them. Please feel free to point out any mistakes which you see.


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